dot here please
It was to Tabris, the beloved warrior-scholar angel, that this dire task fell.
The invitation delivered last night was remarkably simple, especially given the importance of the occasion: “Start where it all began. Meet us at the Pig’s Paunch one hour before dawn.”
The Pig’s Paunch is a run-down building with a faded sign of a large pig standing on its hind legs, arms folded above a corpulent belly. Inside, the air is thick with the scents of human sweat, stale tobacco, and leftover food. In the center of the room, surrounded by inebriates sleeping off their revelries, a familiar elven man stands high upon top of a large round table.
“Welcome! Welcome, my students! Please, have a seat!” With that, Kreighton Shaine, the Pathfinder Society’s Master of Scrolls, nimbly drops down to sit cross-legged on the table before looking about the tavern with a sense of reverent wonder.
“Can you believe it? It all started here years ago—well, over four hundred of them at least. Under this very roof the Pathfinder Society was born. But today! Today you will begin your Confirmation! Master Farabellus, Master Zey, and I all agree you each have shown your worth and dedication to the Society, so there’s no better time to see if you can handle becoming full field operatives. Allow me to introduce you to Janira Gavix,” he says as he motions for an excitable halfling woman to approach.
”She wears a large backpack and carries all manner of tools, pouches, and scroll cases around her waist.
Shaine continues, saying, “Janira here will be going with you on your Confirmation. She was one of my brightest pupils and will no doubt be an invaluable resource on your journey, for she discovered the caves you are about to explore during her own Confirmation.”
Janira speaks up in an enthusiastic and cheerful voice, “Greetings, aspiring Pathfinders! Six months ago, while I was mapping cave entrances in the foothills of the Kortos Mounts, I witnessed a lone gillman entering a concealed cave. I thought little of it at the time, but I saw another one enter the cave again a month later as my Confirmation stretched on. A few days later, after I completed my assigned task, I entered the cave system, but was unable to find the gillmen.”
Master Shaine hops to his feet. “Initiates, for your Confirmation, you will travel to these caves to explore and document its many passages. Additionally, and most importantly, you are to learn what the gillmen are up to in there. Oh, and you need to come back alive as well.”
With these parting words, the Master of Scrolls jumps off the table and strolls out of the building while humming to himself.
Still with a little smile on her face the Halfling asks for your names and your skill set. It is kinda hard to cooperate if you don't know what or who we are cooperating with
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The tall nagaji wearing the greatsword on his back walks up to Janira. "K'Coro is pleased to meet you. K'Coro is from where you call Tien, near Nagaja. Tell K'Coro, are you a follower of Shimye? Many around here call her Desna, but K'Coro knows her as Shimye." As the barabrian speaks, he constantly moves back and forth, never stopping for long in one spot. He continues on.
"K'Coro likes the little ones like you. They almost always agree that peoples should be free."
He finally manages to get on topic. "What can you tell K'Coro about the gillmen? What are they?"
The hound Archon breaks in.
"The sky is turning red, return to power draws near. Fall into me, the sky’s crimson tears, abolish the rules made of stone."
Also known as the Low Azlanti, the gillmen are an amphibious humanoid race believed to be the last descendants of the ancient Azlanti people. During Earthfall, the Starstone struck Golarion and destroyed the human empires of Thassilon and Azlant. It is said that gillmen’s ancestors survived the cataclysmic event because they received the blessing of an aquatic entity that allowed them to breath underwater. she says in response to Lars' query
Does anyone need to buy anything before we head out? she asks
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A loose bundle of vines, roughly humanoid in shape trips and stumbles into the tavern, clearly having a rough go of it. "Oh gosh! It's so hard to get up before sunrise! I didn't even get my morniing sun stretch in.. I hope I didn't miss everyone!"
He...or at least, you think it's a he? It's hard to tell, being mostly vines. He looks up and sees people are still there. Out of breath, he says "I'm Pinpin, and I usually help people grow. Or regrow. It usually makes them a little tired, or makes me a little tired, but it definitely closes their hurts right up!"
Seeing the group talk about going shopping, they look down at the fact that they're not really wearing anything but clothes and a heavy belt pouch. "Ummm.. I could probably use some provisions, but if I'm being honest, I'm not totally sure what I'd need! I normally just read books, fix people, and stretch in the nice warm sun! I'll gladly take some advice!"
Everyone ready to go? she asks as she leads the group out.
“On to the details of the mission at hand,” Janira says with an eager grin.
“After reviewing my mission reports personally, Master Shaine believes it is no coincidence that each time they entered the caves it was during a full moon, so it is also no coincidence that you have been called here now, just a day before the moon is full again. We both believe that tomorrow night is our best chance to fnd out why these caves are important and what exactly the gillmen are doing in there."
“The caves we’ll be travelling to lie under the base of the Kortos Mounts. We’ll need to spend every minute of daylight possible to reach the caves by foot, crossing over the Cairnlands, taking the paths to Diobel, and finally making our way through the wilderness. With any luck we won’t run into any of the local inhabitants. Once in the caves, we’ll need to work together to explore and determine whether any gillman are present or have been recently. Keep an eye out for any other clues that might hint at the caves’ significance, too."
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"I mean, I suppose I can go, but this sounds like the sort of expedition where I should get some armor, some weapons... Some of that bottled fire might be a good idea. Can we stop at a store on our way out of town? I wonder if they sell bottled sunshine.."
The leshy hustles to keep pace with the rest of the group, her belt pouch full of coins going jingle-jangle as she runs to keep up.
The first phase of your Confirmation takes you through Absalom, leads across the Cairnlands, along a well-worn path that leads toward Diobel, through the wilderness surrounding the Kortos Mounts, and culminates at the cave entrance noted in Janira’s Confirmation report.
The journey through the City at the Center of the World is swift and without incident, and the long trek across the Cairnlands has Janira giving you a thorough history lesson on the city. Other than her history lesson, most of the journey is uneventful, although Janira might point out landmarks such as siege towers, distant mountains, or distinct flora and fauna along the journey from time to time.
As the party progresses deeper into the forest, the trees towering overhead begin to shield most of what remains of the day’s sun and the vegetation beneath grows denser.
Janira pauses a moment and pulls out an intricate silver compass emblazoned with the Pathfinder Society logo: the Glyph of the Open Road.
"I received this wayfinder when I successfully completed my Confirmation. Should we be successful on our journey, you will get your own as well." She flips open the device and holds it in front of her; the initials J. L. are engraved into the inside of the device’s lid.
After studying the compass inside for a moment, she remarks, "We’re on the right path. We need to keep heading northwest past those large rocks up ahead."
This begins the section involving the map, please confirm that you can see the map and are placed where you'd like to be inside the white box on Slide 2 with information on Slide 1.
Once everyone is in the box, I can continue on.
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She flips open the device and holds it in front of her; the initials J. L. are engraved into the inside of the device’s lid.
K'coro takes great interest in the compass, recognizing it as a valuable tool for travelers. But something catches his attention.
"K'Coro has a question for you, friend halfling, K'coro notices the initials on your device are J.L. K'Coro thought your name was Janira Gavix. Should it not be J.G.?"
The Eidolon's eyes narrow at the halfling.
But to do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices that Amaznen made.
She is telling the truth. Wayfinders are often passed down to other members of the Society
A large smash emerges as a tree topples in the forest, Since you were around you heard it :)
As the animals of the forest run from hiding places from next to you and in front of you emerge 2 hippogriffs, eyes ablaze
Griffs
Order
K'Coro
Esdras
Janira
Griff: in front
Pinpin
Griff: Side
Haranaum
The javelin tossed by the nagaji misses.
Seeing how this might turn out bad, the Halfling begins to tell you all inspiring stories about when the Pathfinder Society had to have brave members that would see the task at hand finished,
Inspriration: +1 to hit and damage
The griff approaches the snake man and tries to bite him
missing
The Archon moves up closer to a Hippogriff and glares at it, pronouncing judgement.
There is the Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
Pinpin?
The second hippogriff flies at Lars and tries to bite him
missing
This is part of why I asked for people to fill out the slide so that things would run smoother. Sadly, some chose not to.
K'Coro
Lars
Esdras
Janira
Griff: in front
Pinpin
Griff: Side
Haranaum
The hippogriff tries to bite at the eidolon as he moves up;
missing
Hanrarum is up